As planned, I took my K-Wing list to a local tournament today. I didn’t intend to win any prizes and mostly went to play around with the K-Wing. Even so, I am a bit disappointed by the K-Wing’s performance. It’s more fragile than it seems.

Of the 5 matches I played, I lost 4.

Match 1 – Lethal Twin Laser Turrets

The first game I played showed me an arguably better use of the Twin Laser Turret, which I used on Miranda Doni in the hope of getting the most out of her unique ability.

The two Twin Laser Turrents proved particularly lethal for Miranda Doni in her K-Wing. Shooting twice a turn each, the two Y-Wings put 3 – 4 dice of damage on her most turns. Needless to say, she didn’t last long.

After the K-Wing was gone, my Z-95 Headhunters didn’t stand much of a chance against Dash Rendar, despite the missiles I shot his way.

Match 2 – Victory Against the TIE-Punisher

The only match I won, I went up against a similar „let’s try the new bombers“-list.

This list was build around the TIE-Punisher, piloted in this match by Redline, which came out along with the K-Wing, bringing many similar upgrades to the Imperium.

Redline was supported, oddly enough, by a TIE-Defender and a TIE-Advanced. As high tech as the Imperium gets.

It was a good match-up, as my alpha strike list could really shine with its alpha strike against Redline. Moreover, my Ion Bomb helped me keep the TIE-Defender in place.

The result: today’s one and only victory for Miranda Doni.

Match 3- The Imperium’s Finest

In my third match, I went up against the first hard tournament list.

Darth Vader in a TIE-Advanced with the TIE/x1 Title and Advanced Targeting Computer

Whisper in a TIE-Phantom with Veteran Instincts and Advanced Cloaking Device

Soontir Fel in a TIE-Interceptor with Autothrusters and Push the Limit

Too many very elusive, slippery and hard-to-hit ships assembled there. I even scored a few hits on Whisper, but stood no chance against this lean, mean tournament-maschine.

To Be Continued…

My final two matches and my closing thoughts about the K-Wing in part 2.

Heading out to a day-long X-Wing tournament. A tournament with twist: People bring two lists, alternating between them from game to game.

It sounds like a lot of fun and I haven’t played X-Wing in a while. The only problem, I needed another list. I flirted with two IG-2000 for a while, but ended up buying a YT-2400 with Dash Rendar, mostly because I prefer the (in my humble opinion) more classic Star-Wars-look of this particular ship.

„Fat Dash“ – An Expensive Proposition

Dash Rendar is popular in X-Wing tournaments these days, not least because it is an easy list to play. That suits me fine, seeing how I have to work two lists. Corran Horn is frequently his wingman.

Now, Dash Rendar in his YT-2400 is often used with the Engine Upgrade and Kyle Katarn as crew (along with Push the Limit). It’s a beautiful combination the really squeezes the most out of this wonderfully maneuverable ship.

Sadly, the former comes from the Millenium Falcon and the former later from the Rebels Aces. I own neither and don’t want to spend 40 quid just for two cards. So I’ll have the wing it on a budget (using just the things I own).

Dash Rendar – (Mostly) Straight from the Box

Dash Rendar doing what he does best: Staying at range and blasting away. Three out of four upgrade cards come directly in the box with the YT-2400.

Heavy Laser Cannon – Given the YT-2400s measly base damage, it really is a ship meant to be flown with a cannon.

Outrider Title – A pricey option to turn the cannon into a turret. It’s pricey not just for the points, but for losing all attacks at range 1. I’ve seen people forgo this one entirely, but since I compromised on maneuverability, I wanted to give it a go.

Leebo – This little crew-member essentially is the more quirky version of the Engine Upgrade. Managing these Ion-Tokens (large ships only get ionized with two tokens) will be more difficult, but perhaps also more fun.

Push the Limit – This one doesn’t come in the box, but I still own it (from the A-Wing expansion). It’s just too good to not take it.

Corran Horn – Dash’s Favourite Wingman

He’s a mean little assassin, diving in to take out a specific high value target, where Dash if filling the void with heavy laser artillery.

Fire Control System – The one upgrade that works so, so perfectly with Corran’s pilot ability. Attack. Target Lock. Attack again with Target Lock. X-Wing’s double-tap.

Flechette Torpedos – They come with the E-Wing expansion pack. I mostly took them because I had points to spare, but not enough for proper Proton Torpedos. Will they be useful? No idea. I will find out.

Push the Limit – Because it’s crazy good.

R2-D2 – Because he will be flying many green maneuvers anyhow, seeing how he needs to remove stress from Push the Limit. In a list with only 2 ships, the added survivability is key.

Final Thoughts

There is no denying that this is a net-list. Or, perhaps, it started as a net-list, watered down by economic prudence to upgrade cards that didn’t require buying more X-Wing ships (I know, I am weird not owning a Falcon).

In a two-list tournament however, the list has some added charm in being easy to fly (at least I hope). Playing four or five games in a day can take a toll, and this list should mitigate this somewhat, leaving me fresh and concentrated for those other games, when I will have to juggle lots of TIE-Fighters.